On the simulation of multibody systems with holonomic constraints

TL;DR

This paper introduces a Lagrangian-based computational model for simulating multibody systems with holonomic constraints, effectively preventing drift and oscillations to maintain physical accuracy over long simulations.

Contribution

The paper develops a novel simulation method using jet spaces and Lagrangian formalism that improves stability and accuracy in multibody dynamics with constraints.

Findings

Successfully avoids drift-off and spurious oscillations

Maintains physical relevance in long-term simulations

Validated with multiple numerical examples

Abstract

We use Lagrangian formalism and jet spaces to derive a computational model to simulate multibody dynamics with holonomic constraints. Our approach avoids the traditional problems of drift-off and spurious oscillations. Hence even long simulations remain physically relevant. We illustrate our method with several numerical examples.